India–Israel Sign Defence Pact, Signalling Regional Power Shift as Kabul Warms to New Delhi

Israel on Tuesday hailed India as a rising global power, calling for a long-term strategic alliance as the two countries signed a defence pact expanding cooperation in advanced weapons systems, cyber security, and artificial intelligence. The agreement was concluded in Tel Aviv during a session of the India–Israel Joint Working Group on defence cooperation, led by India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Israel’s Defence Ministry Director General Major General (Res) Amir Baram.

Earlier in New Delhi, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described India as “a global superpower” during talks with External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, stating that the two nations must now “advance a strategic partnership shaped for the future.” The discussions centred on counter-terror cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and regional security coordination.

India’s Ministry of Defence said the newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz provides a “unified policy framework” enabling co-development and co-production of military systems, along with expanded joint research between private and state-owned defence industries.

Pakistan–Saudi Defence Pact Alters Strategic Balance

The agreement arrives a month after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Cooperation Framework on September 17, which formalizes deeper military coordination and reaffirms Pakistan’s security role in safeguarding Makkah and Madinah, historically described in Pakistani defence doctrine as Muhafiz-e-Haramain Sharifain.

Analysts say the development marked Pakistan’s return to a central security role within the Muslim world, prompting new strategic recalibrations in the region.

Kabul’s Shift Toward New Delhi Raises Diplomatic Alarm

However, shortly after the Pakistan–Saudi agreement, Afghanistan’s Taliban Regime Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi on October 10. During the joint press statement, he referred to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India, a position that contradicts United Nation Security Council resolutions and the internationally recognized disputed status of the region.

Pakistan summoned the Afghan envoy in Islamabad, calling the statement “a violation of diplomatic responsibility and disregard for the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people.” President Asif Ali Zardari commented that the Afghan interim administration had “turned away from a just and historic cause,” causing concern within the broader Muslim diplomatic community.

The shift is notable because Pakistan played a central role in facilitating the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, aiming to secure cooperation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), noted regional experts. Instead, relations have deteriorated into border clashes and rising cross-border militant infiltration, with Pakistan claiming that TTP leadership continues to operate from Afghan territory.

Strategic Nexus: Analysts Note Coordinated Pressure on Pakistan

Security officials in Islamabad argue that recent regional movements reflect a coordinated strategic pressure campaign rather than isolated diplomatic developments. They point to the near-simultaneous expansion of India–Israel defence cooperation, the Afghan Taliban leadership’s outreach to New Delhi, and a noticeable uptick in TTP-linked militant activity along Pakistan’s western frontier. 

According to a senior Pakistani security official, the sequence is deliberate: as India and Israel deepen joint military production, intelligence-sharing, and advanced weapons collaboration, Afghan officials have begun publicly echoing Indian positions, including on Indian-held Kashmir, while TTP networks operate with renewed confidence from Afghan territory. The official added that Israeli and Indian policy circles have long identified Pakistan as a central security competitor, and both states have historically developed influence channels inside Afghanistan to shape the regional security environment. 

The current alignment, therefore, is seen in Islamabad not simply as diplomatic realignment, but as an evolving strategic nexus in which political signaling, military partnerships, and proxy militant pressure intersect with the objective of constraining Pakistan’s regional position.

Conclusion

The India–Israel defence pact and Kabul’s visible political alignment with New Delhi represent a reconfiguration of regional influence at a moment when Pakistan has strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia. Analysts say South Asia and the Middle East are entering a new strategic phase in which military diplomacy, border security, and ideological positioning are increasingly intersecting.

Pakistan has maintained that Afghan territory is being used by the TTP to conduct cross-border attacks, violating assurances under the Doha Agreement and regional ceasefire understandings. Islamabad has further cautioned that external intelligence support networks are attempting to destabilize Pakistan internally.

The evolving alignments suggest the emergence of a coordinated regional axis, with implications for Pakistan’s security posture, border stability, and diplomatic environment in the months ahead.

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